


context switching

by tangentiallly



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Gen, opera night preparations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 06:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17893151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangentiallly/pseuds/tangentiallly
Summary: “Well,” Beatrice said, “chaotic efficient is still a form of efficiency.  Perhaps even a more productive one at times, too.”





	context switching

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: I don't own ASOUE
> 
> please don't copy this story to another site

 

Beatrice quickly checked that there was no one else in the hallway at the moment, then stuck the key she was given earlier into a hole on the statue in front of her.  She heard a soft click, and the front half of the statue swung open, revealing a room.  She quickly stepped in, closing the statue behind her. 

“Hey,” she greeted, looking curiously around the room.  It was the first time she was here.  When Beatrice mentioned last time that she wanted somewhere discreet where they could discuss their mission, Bertrand said that he had a long-term room at the Hotel Denouement that they might be able to use.  After she promised to keep it a secret, he gave her a key that he said would “open the statue at the end of the corridor on the 5th floor.”

Bertrand looked up from the large table that was piled with various opened books, notes, pictures, an unfinished puzzle, and an in-progress chess game.  “Hi,” he said, glancing the table briefly. “Uh, sorry this is messy, I’ll clear out some space for you.”  He piled stacked some books and notes on top of each other.  She studied all the objects on the table with interest.

“Why do you have your own secret room at the hotel?” Beatrice asked curiously as she set her bag on the space Bertrand cleared out.

“I’m quite close with one of the managers,” he answered, sitting back down onto one of the chairs.

“Which one?” Beatrice thought she might be able to guess, but she wasn’t completely sure.

“That’s an interesting question,” he replied, then switched the subject immediately. “Anyway, take a look at this opera layout. I think there might be a better escape route than the one we originally thought.”

She was going to comment on the natural unhelpfulness of his answer, but the newly drawn route on the map caught her eyes and sparked her interest.  “Wait, this part of the structure wasn’t on the map last time.”

“Give me a sec …” Bertrand tried to sort through the stack of notes he just piled up, and finally found what he was looking for. A map that looked very similar to the one they were looking at moments ago.  Beatrice recognized it immediately as the map they had been using at their last discussion. “This was the old one we have … I think it might be inaccurate.”

“Someone fabricated the official map,” Beatrice said, realizing.

“Likely.  I haven’t actually gone there and check.  We probably need some preparations if we want to see the parts that are so carefully hidden.”

She couldn’t help point out, “A little like this room, wouldn’t you say?”

“Life is full of parallels?” He offered.

She rolled her eyes, laughing a bit. “Especially when you’re in a secret organization.”

She studied the “unofficial” version of the map for a while, tracing her fingers along the routes.  When she turned to him again, ready to say something, she saw him moving the black bishop across the chessboard. When he looked up from the chessboard, their eyes met. “Sorry,” he said, flushing a little. “It’s just I’ve been debating what the next move was for a while now and it finally struck me.  He’s probably going to move his knight or rook next, the former’s going to leave an opening for the queen, and the latter would require him to leave the position that’s perfect for attacking my front.”

She couldn’t help but smile a little as he rambled. “It’s fine. Want to look at the map now?”

They discussed and refine the escape plan for a while, and then Beatrice pulled up Monty’s book on snake venom and a list of the pros and cons for each possible option, which they also discussed in depth.

Finally, they narrowed the list down to two.

“Hey, you mind if I take a quick break?” he exhaled.

“Sure,” she agreed, stretching her arms upwards and kicking her legs out slightly. “That was productive.”

“I always feel quite productive when working with you,” he flashed her a smile, then turned to focus on the puzzle pieces, trying out some of them to see if those fit. “You keep me grounded to a certain task and goal.”

“Wait, what?” Beatrice asked, intrigued at the way he said this.

He took a little time to put three of the pieces together, and looked up her again, shrugging. “Well, I’m quite the procrastinator when I left to my own devices.”

“Really? I’ve always felt like you’re quite productive yourself, always getting a lot of stuff done.”

Bertrand’s eyes flicked to the chessboard again for a moment, then said, “well, I do often procrastinate a task by doing something _else_ I would also like to get done eventually, and uh ... vice versa, I guess? Or try to do them both at the same time, but never really 100 percent on either. I just feel like I want to jump to something else after a short period of time.”

“Well,” Beatrice said, “chaotic efficient is still a form of efficiency.  Perhaps even a more productive one at times, too.”

“I think of that sometimes too. It’s just probably not the best way to go when there’s that one important thing requiring total focus.  But it’s easier to really just focus on that one thing when you’re around,” he gave her a lopsided smile. “Comparatively, at the very least.”

“Yeah, I’m always an impactful presence to have around,” she said playfully. “Naturally attention catching. It’s in the genes.”

“Truly,” he agreed, and they both laughed.

She observed him, and it occurred to her it was the first time he told her so much about his working process.  Perhaps it was because they’re kind of partners now, after being assigned the same mission.  It was a side of him she never saw before. Beatrice wondered how many people knew of this about him.

“Out of curiosity, would you say you procrastinate fun too?” she asked.

“I mean, I don’t know if you can use the word procrastinate to describe something in regards to fun, but since I discuss escape plans with you in between finishing the puzzles, so … maybe?” he said, sounding uncertain. “Or perhaps pausing a movie to try solve a coded letter count.”

“I remember during the training days, some teachers would always say it’s important to separate work and play, and how it’s better instead of, like, getting distracted at work about other stuff, and then thinking about work again when you’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“I recall,” he made a face. “Easier said than done though. And I’ve always thought it’s the total time and effort you’re putting into a project that mattered, not whether they’re continuous or not. Usually.  Not that I’d ever told them that, of course.”

He’d always been extremely agreeing with the adults when they’d been younger, she remembered.  He was still a very non-confrontational person now, of course, but she got the impression that these days he’d gotten better at doing whatever he wanted in a subtle way while still not arguing it with others.

“It sounds like you’re always in work mode, except your brand of work mode is jumping between different works every now and then, interlacing with hobbies too.” She commented.

He put another two puzzle pieces together, and then looked at her thoughtfully, “You know, it’s like a computer doing context switching when you put it like that. Well, I guess humans are some kind of very detailed programmed computer in a way, but I’ve never thought about of jumping between tasks similar to context switching before.  It’s interesting.”

She raised an eyebrow, amused. “A computer … that’s a very efficient thing you just compared yourself to.”

“Hey,” he said, laughing, “I said humans. You know, like, in general.”

“Yeah, but specifically about the way you switch between tasks,” she pointed out.

“Ah, well, maybe a little,” he conceded. “It’s a thought that makes things easier. Makes me feel like I’m still quite … useful and efficient even if I can’t focus on one single task for too long.”

She felt the next words tumbling out her mouth before she could stop herself. “You _are_. And you’ve been a great mission partner.”

He looked a little taken aback, then smiled at her. “Thanks -- you’ve been great too.” He paused for a moment, and said, “Oh, by the way, I came across this poem about bats the other day, could I show you?”  He reached across the table to grab the book of poetry collection.

Beatrice couldn’t help but smile. “I’d love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [tumblr](https://beatricebidelaire.tumblr.com)


End file.
